Subject: Transparency and credibility of factual facts
Posted: 12 October 2023 at 7:56am
I often hear Christian missionariescriticizing Islam and accusing it because Islam permitted slavery, and sayingthat this is a transgression against man’s freedom and rights. How can werespond to these people?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Discussing slavery and askingquestions about it on the part of those who promote Christianity and try todivert people from following the religion of Islam is something that annoys thewise person and makes him point the finger of accusation towards the ulteriormotives that lie behind these questions.
That is because slavery is wellestablished in Judaism and Christianity, where it has taken unjust forms. Theyhave many books which discuss that in detail and condone it. Therefore it makesyou wonder: how can these churchmen call people to Christianity whenChristianity condones and legitimizes slavery?
In other words: how can they stir upan issue when they themselves are up to their necks in it?!
The issue of slavery is completelydifferent when discussed from the angles of Christianity and Islam, and whencompared with the situation that prevailed at the advent of Islam.
Hence we must discuss this topic insome detail with reference to what is said in Judaism, Christianity andcontemporary culture on this matter, then we will speak of slavery in Islam.
Many lies have been fabricated aboutIslam on this topic, at a time when criminals with lengthy track records aresafe and nobody points a finger at them.
Islam and slavery:
Islam affirms that Allaah, may He beglorified and exalted, created man fully accountable, and enjoined duties uponhim, to which reward and punishment are connected on the basis of man’s freewill and choice.
No human being has the right torestrict this freedom or take away that choice unlawfully; whoever dares to dothat is a wrongdoer and oppressor.
This is one of the basic principles ofIslam. When the question is asked: why does Islam permit slavery? We replyemphatically and without shame that slavery is permitted in Islam, but weshould examine the matter with fairness and with the aim of seeking the truth,and we should examine the details of the rulings on slavery in Islam, withregard to the sources and
reasons for it, and how to deal withthe slave and how his rights and duties are equal to those of the free man, andthe ways in which he may earn his freedom, of which there are many insharee’ah, whilst also taking into consideration the new types of slavery inthis world which is pretending to be civilized, modern and progressive.
When Islam came, there were manycauses of slavery, such as warfare, debt (where if the debtor could not pay offhis debt, he became a slave), kidnapping and raids, and poverty and need.
Slavery did not spread in thisappalling manner throughout all continents except by means of kidnapping;rather the main source of slaves in Europe and America in later centuries was thismethod.
The texts of Islam took a strongstance against this. It says in a hadeeth qudsi: “Allaah, may He be exalted,said: ‘There are three whose opponent I will be on the Day of Resurrection, andwhomever I oppose, I will defeat … A man who sold a free man and consumed hisprice.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2227).
It is worth pointing out that you donot find any text in the Qur’aan or Sunnah which enjoins taking others asslaves, whereas there are dozens of texts in the Qur’aan and the ahaadeeth ofthe Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which call formanumitting slaves and freeing them.
There were many sources of slaves atthe time of the advent of Islam, whereas the means of manumitting them werevirtually nil. Islam changed the way in which slavery was dealt with; itcreated many new ways of liberating slaves, blocked many ways of enslavingpeople, and established guidelines which blocked these means.
Islam limited the sources of slavesthat existed before the beginning of the Prophet’s mission to one way only:enslavement through war which was imposed on kaafir prisoners-of-war and ontheir womenfolk and children.
Shaykh al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah havemercy on him) said: The reason for slavery is kufr and fighting against Allaahand His Messenger. When Allaah enables the Muslim mujaahideen who are offeringtheir souls and their wealth, and fighting with all their strength and withwhat Allaah has given them to make the word of Allaah supreme over the kuffaar,then He makes them their property by means of slavery unless the ruler choosesto free them for nothing or for a ransom, if that serves the interests of theMuslims. End quote from Adwa’al-Bayaan (3/387).
He also said:
If it is said: If the slave becomesMuslim then why keep him as a slave, when the reason for slavery is kufr andfighting against Allaah and His Messenger, so this reason no longer applies?
The answer is that the well knownprinciple among the scholars and all wise people, which is that the previouslyestablished right cannot be erased by a right that is established later, andthat what came first takes precedence, is obvious.
When the Muslims captured kuffaar,their right to possession was affirmed by the law of the Creator of all, Who isAll Wise and All Knowing. So this right is confirmed and established. Then ifthe slave became Muslim after that, his right to escape slavery by embracingIslam was superseded by the mujaahid’s prior right to take possession of himbefore he became Muslim, and it would be unjust and unfair to annul the priorright because of a subsequent right, as is well known to all wise people.
Yes, it is good for the master to freethe slave if he becomes Muslim. The Lawgiver enjoined and encouraged that, andopened many doors to it. Glory be to the Most Wise, the All Knowing. “And theWord of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can changeHis Words. And He is the All‑Hearer, the All‑Knower” [al-An’aam 6:115].
“in truth”means in what He tells us, and “in justice” means in His rulings.
Undoubtedly this justice refers toowning slaves and other rulings of the Qur’aan.
How many people criticize somethingsound when their problem is their own misunderstanding. End quote from Adwa’ al-Bayaan (3/389).
Capture of prisoners during war wasthe most common way of acquiring slaves. Prisoners would inevitably be capturedduring any war, and the prevalent custom at that time was that prisoners had noprotection or rights; they would either be killed or enslaved. But Islambrought two more options: unconditional release or ransom. Allaah says(interpretation of the meaning): “Thereafter (is the time) either forgenerosity (i.e. free them without ransom), or ransom (according to whatbenefits Islam)” [Muhammad 47:4]. During the battle of Badr the Prophet
(peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) accepted ransoms from the mushrik prisoners ofwar and let them go, and the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be uponhim) let many of the prisoners go for free, releasing them with no ransom.During the conquest of Makkah it was said to the people of Makkah: “Go, for youare free.”
During the campaign ofBanu’l-Mustaliq, the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)married a female prisoner from the defeated tribe so as to raise her status, asshe was the daughter of one of their leaders, namely the Mother of theBelievers Juwayriyah bint al-Haarith (may Allaah be pleased with her). Then theMuslims let all of these prisoners go.
Islam is not thirsty for the blood ofprisoners, nor is it eager to enslave them.
Thus we may understand the limitedways that can lead to slavery. Islam did not abolish it altogether, because thekaafir prisoner who was opposed to truth and justice was a wrongdoer, or was asupporter of wrongdoing or was a tool in the execution or approval ofwrongdoing. Letting him go free would give him the opportunity to spreadwrongdoing and aggression against others and to oppose the truth and prevent itreaching people.
Freedom is a basic human right whichcannot be taken away from a person except for a reason. When Islam acceptedslavery within the limits that we have described, it put restrictions on theman who exploits his freedom in the worst possible way. If he was takenprisoner in a war of aggression in which he was defeated, then the properconduct is to keep him in reasonable conditions throughout his detention.
Despite all that, Islam offers manyopportunities to restore freedom to him and people like him.
The principle of dealing with slavesin Islam is a combination of justice, kindness and compassion.
One of the means of liberating slavesis allocating a portion of zakaah funds to freeing slaves; the expiation foraccidental killing, zihaar (a jaahili form of divorce that is forbidden),breaking vows and having intercourse during the day in Ramadaan, is to free aslave. In addition to that, Muslims are also encouraged in general terms tofree slaves for the sake of Allaah.
This is a brief summary of some of theprinciples of dealing with slaves in a just and kind manner:
freeing the slave
Gradually
Islam came, and slavery was arecognized system in all parts of the world. Rather, it was an economic andsocial currency in circulation, and no one denounced it, and no one thoughtabout the possibility of changing it. Therefore, changing or erasing thissystem was a matter that required a very gradual and long time
1 – Guaranteeingthem food and clothing like that of their masters.
It was narrated that Abu Dharr (mayAllaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessingsof Allaah be upon him) said: “They are your brothers whom Allaah has put underyour authority, so if Allaah has put a person’s brother under his authority,let him feed him from what he eats and clothe him from what he wears, and lethim not overburden him with work, and if he does overburden him with work, thenlet him help him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6050).
2 – Preservingtheir dignity
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (mayAllaah be pleased with him) said: I heard Abu’l-Qaasim (peace and blessings ofAllaah be upon him) say: “Whoever accuses his slave when he is innocent of whathe says will be flogged on the Day of Resurrection, unless he is as he said.”Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6858).
Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased withhim) manumitted a slave of his, then he picked up a stick or something from theground and said: There is no more reward in it than the equivalent of this, butI heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)say: “Whoever slaps his slave or beats him, his expiation is to manumit him.”Narrated by Muslim (1657).
3 – Being fairtowards slaves and treating them kindly
It was narrated that ‘Uthmaan ibn‘Affaan tweaked the ear of a slave of his when he did something wrong, then hesaid to him after that: Come and tweak my ear in retaliation. The slave refusedbut he insisted, so he started to tweak it slightly, and he said to him: Do itstrongly, for I cannot bear the punishment on the Day of Resurrection. Theslave said: Like that, O my master? The Day that you fear I fear also.
When ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf (mayAllaah be pleased with him) walked among his slaves, no one could tell himapart from them, because he did not walk ahead of them, and he did not wearanything different from what they wore.
One day ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab passedby and saw some slaves standing and not eating with their master. He got angryand said to their master: What is wrong with people who are selfish towardstheir servants? Then he called the servants and they ate with them.
A man entered upon Salmaan (may Allaahbe pleased with him) and found him making dough – and he was a governor. Hesaid to him: O Abu ‘Abd-Allaah, what is this? He said: We have sent our servanton an errand and we do not want to give him two jobs at once.
4 – There isnothing wrong with slaves having precedence over free men in some matters
- with regardto any religious or worldly matters in which he excels over him. For example,it is valid for a slave to lead the prayer. ‘Aa’ishah the Mother of theBelievers had a slave who would lead her in prayer. Indeed the Muslims havebeen commanded to hear and obey even if a slave is appointed in charge of theiraffairs.
5 – A slavemay buy himself from his master and be free.
If a person is enslaved for somereason but then it becomes apparent that he has given up his wrongdoing andforgotten his past, and he has become a man who shuns evil and seeks to dogood, is it permissible to respond to his request to let him go free? Islamsays yes, and there are some fuqaha’ who say that this is obligatory and somewho say that it is mustahabb.
This is what is called a mukaatabah orcontract of manumission between the slave and his master. Allaah says(interpretation of the meaning):
“And such ofyour slaves as seek a writing (of emancipation), give them such writing, if youfind that there is good and honesty in them. And give them something(yourselves) out of the wealth of Allaah which He has bestowed upon you”
[al-Noor 24:33]
This is how Islam treats slaves justlyand kindly.
One of the results of these guidelinesis that in many cases, the slave would become a friend of his master; in somecases the master would regard him as a son. Sa’d ibn Haashim al-Khaalidi said,describing a slave of his:
He is not a slave, rather he is a sonwhom [Allaah] has put under my care.
He has supported me with his goodservice; he is my hands and my arms.
Another result of the Muslims treatingslaves in this manner is that the slaves became part of Muslim families as ifthey were also family members.
Gustave le Bon says in Hadaarat al-‘Arab(Arab Civilization) (p. 459-460): What I sincerely believe is that slaveryamong the Muslims is better than slavery among any other people, and that thesituation of slaves in the east is better than that of servants in Europe, andthat slaves in the east are part of the family. Slaves who wanted to be freecould attain freedom by expressing their wish. But despite that, they did notresort to exercising this right. End quote.
How did non-Muslims treat slaves?
Attitude of the Jews towards slaves:
According to the Jews, mankind isdivided into two groups: the Israelites form one group and all of mankind isanother group.
As for the Israelites, it ispermissible to enslave some of them, according to specific teachings containedin the Old Testament.
As for people other than theIsraelites, they are a low-class race according to the Jews, who may beenslaved via domination and subjugation, because they are people who are doomedto humiliation by the heavenly decree from eternity. It says in Exodus 21:2-6:
“If you buy aHebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, heshall go free, without paying anything.
3 If he comesalone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to gowith him.
4 If hismaster gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and herchildren shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 But if the servantdeclares, 'I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,'
6 then hismaster must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or thedoorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life”
As for enslaving non-Hebrews, this isdone by taking them captive or overpowering them, because they believe thattheir race is superior to others, and they try to find a justification for thatslavery in their distorted Torah. So they say that Ham the son of Noah – whowas the father of Canaan – angered his father, because Noah was drunk one dayand became naked as he was sleeping in his tent, and Ham saw him like that.When Noah found out about that after he woke up, he got angry and he cursed hisprogeny who were descendents of Canaan, and he said – according to the Book ofGenesis 9:25-26): “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to hisbrothers.’ He also said, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem.’”
In the same chapter (v. 27) it says:“May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, andmay Canaan be his [or their] slave”.
In the Book of Deuteronomy 20:10-14,it says:
“When youmarch up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.
11 If theyaccept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forcedlabor and shall work for you.
12 If theyrefuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city.
13 When theLORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.
14 As for thewomen, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you maytake these as plunder for yourselves”
Attitude of the Christians towardsslaves:
Christianity confirmed slavery as ithad been affirmed beforehand by Judaism. There is no text in the Gospels thatprohibits or denounces slavery. It is remarkable that the historian WilliamMuir criticized our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be uponhim) for not immediately abolishing slavery, whilst overlooking the attitude ofthe Gospels concerning slavery, as there is no report from the Messiah, or fromthe Disciples, or from the churches concerning this issue.
Rather, in his Epistles, Paul advisedthat slaves should be loyal to their masters, as he says in his Epistle to theEphesians, where he enjoins slaves to obey their masters as they would obey theMessiah:
“5 Slaves,obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart,just as you would obey Christ.
6 Obey themnot only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves ofChrist, doing the will of God from your heart.
7 Servewholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,
8 because youknow that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether heis slave or free”
(Ephesians6:5-9).
In Grand Larousse encyclopédique, itsays: It comes as no surprise that slavery has continued among Christians untiltoday; the official representatives of the faith have affirmed its validity andaccepted its legitimacy.
… to sum up: theChristian religion approved fully of slavery and still does so today. It isvery difficult for anyone to prove that Christianity strove to abolish slavery.
The saints affirmed that nature makessome people slaves.
Churchmen did not prevent slavery oroppose it; rather they supported it, to such an extent that the philosophersaint Thomas Aquinas supported the philosophical view that agreed with the viewof religious leaders, and he did not object to slavery, rather he praised itbecause – according to the view of Aristotle – it is one of the conditions inwhich some people are created naturally, and it does not contradict faith for aman to be content with the lowest position in life.
Haqaa’iq al-Islam by al-‘Aqqaad (p.215).
In the Dictionary of the Bible by Dr.George Yousuf it says: Christianity did not object to slavery for political oreconomic reasons, and it did not urge believers to oppose their generation’sviews with regard to slavery, or even debate it, and it did not say anythingagainst the rights of slave owners or motivate the slaves to seek independence;it did not discuss the harm or harshness of slavery and it did not enjoin theimmediate release of slaves.
It did not change anything in thenature of the relationship between master and slave; on the contrary, itaffirmed the rights and duties of both parties.
Contemporary Europeand slavery
It is the reader’s right, in this eraof advancement and progress, to ask questions about the pioneers of thisprogress and the numbers of people who died because of the way in which theywere hunted, and who died on their way to the coast where the ships of theEnglish Company and others would wait, then the rest died due to changes inclimate. Approximately 4% died as they were being loaded onto the ships, and 12% during the journey, let alone those who died in the colonies.
The slave trade continued at the handsof English companies that obtained the right of monopoly with the permission ofthe British government, then gave free rein to British subjects to enslavepeople. Some experts estimate that the total number of people seized by theBritish during slavery and exiled to the colonies between 1680 and 1786 CE wasaround 2,130,000.
When Europemade contact with Black Africa, this contact led to human misery during whichthe black people of that continent were faced with a major calamity that lastedfor five centuries. The states of Europe cameup with evil ways of kidnapping these people and bringing them to their landsto serve as fuel for their revival, where they burdened them with more workthan they could bear. When Americawas discovered, the calamity increased and they became slaves in two continentsinstead of just one.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica says(2/779) on the topic of slavery: Hunting slaves in the villages that weresurrounded by the jungle was done by lighting fires in the straw of which thecorrals surrounding the villages were made, then when the villagers fled toopen land, the British hunted them down with whatever means they had at theirdisposal.
During the period from 1661 to 1774,for every million Black Africans who reached the Americas, a further nine milliondied during the hunting, loading and transportation. In other words, only onetenth of those who were hunted survived and actually reached the Americas, wherethey found no rest or relief, rather they were subjected to hard labour andtorture.
At that time, they had laws which anywise person would be ashamed of.
Among these evil laws were those whichsaid that any slave who transgressed against his master was to be killed, andany slave who ran away was to have his hands and feet cut off, and he was to bebranded with hot iron; if he ran away again, he was to be killed. How could herun away if his hands and feet had been cut off?!
It was forbidden for a black man tobecome educated, and the jobs of whites were forbidden to coloureds.
In America, if seven black peoplegathered together, that was regarded as a crime, and if a white man passed bythem it was permissible for him to spit at them and give them twenty lashes.
Another law stated that the blacks hadno soul and that they possessed no smartness, intelligence or willpower, andthat life existed only in their arms.
To sum up, with regard to his dutiesand service to his master, the slave was regarded as sane, responsible andpunishable if he fell short, but with regard to his rights, he had no soul andno being, and he was not more than a strong pair of arms!
Finally, after many centuries ofenslavement and oppression, there came the protocol to abolish slavery andstrive to put an end to it, in a resolution issued by the United Nations in1953 CE.
Hence their consciences did not awakenuntil the last century, after they had built their civilization on the corpsesof free men whom they had enslaved unlawfully. What fair-minded person cancompare this with the teachings of Islam, which came fourteen hundred yearsago? It seems that accusing Islam with regard to this topic is like the saying,“She accused me of her problem then walked away.”
Slavery in Islam - Dr.Jonathan AC Brown | Lecture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3yuZYaoaag
Islam, Slavery and the African - Abdullah HakimQuick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcbWt27UieA
Hadith #30 - Slavery in Islam| 40 Hadiths on Social Justice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9d6sZJRNYQ
Islam and Slavery - By Dr. Zakir Naik
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-15no-m0jn4
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